Question

Is it normal to have separation anxiety as early as 3 months?

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My baby started seperation anxiety very early around 2 and a half months and he screams when being held by anyone but me or his dad. (Sometimes he's OK with very few people, who don't have to be people he's seen before) He is also uncomfortable when we go to certain people's houses (like his grandparents' whom he sees every week) and starts crying nonstop after a while until we leave. He cries even when they talk to him while I'm holding him. He is almost 5 months now and it is getting worse. What does this mean at such an early age?

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My daughter was the same way. And it really upset me because friends and family couldn't even hold her! She is seeming to grow out of it now at 8 months. I just tried taking her out and around people more for the interaction. I also would tell friends and family not to reach for her right away but give her time to adjust. I would hold her also until she seemed a little more comfortable with her surroundings. But it is also helping that she is now able to do a little more on her own, as in sitting up, rolling, attempting to crawl, etc. She realizes there is a much bigger world out there. I am not sure if that has anything to do with this phase wearing off although since she has found these forms of freedom she seems more interested in different surroundings and people. Good luck. I know it is frustrating but eventually things will get better.

I have a 4month old daughter and she can only be held by me. When I give her to her father or anyone else she will scream and as soon as I take her back she stops. Its draining sometimes when I want break. I don't know if it is because I stay home all day or what but how long is this suppose to last. My husband gets sad because he thinks he isn't bonding enough with her but I just tell him its because I am home all day.

Oh my gosh! You are exactly describing my baby!! He starts crying when either grandma or grandpa just talk to him. It's like he knows they're going to want to hold him and he gets upset at the thought of it. I feel bad because he's the first grandchild on either side of our family, so the're all absolutely crazy about him, but he wants nothing to do with any of them. Hopefully it will pass in the next few months!!

People may not believe this, but my daughter started this at 6 weeks. She wouldn't let her dad, grandparents or anyone else hold her. She would scream hysterically until I took her back. I didn't know a baby that young could sense that it wasn't mommy, or really care. She finally outgrew this at 10 weeks old and now she loves everyone except strangers.

Hello, I am a mother of 2 kids, a son age 10 and my daughter is now a little over 3 yrs old and my daughter was the exact same way. It started at 3 months and it was BAD!! I could not take her anywhere, if anyone even looked at her she would scream like she was in pain and I was desperate. My family could not hold or even look at her and her dad didn't dare walk in the house with a hat on or if I walked in the room with a towel on my head after a shower she would freak out, it was bad but there is good news for you, One day I was sitting in her doctors office after a check-up(another bad one)and I asked her doctor if she would ever grow out of this feeling desperate and she told me this: She held up a pen and said if this were a sucker and she really wanted it she still would not dare come get it howover there will come a day when she can be bribed to come over to get this sucker,her wants will overcome her fears and it has:)She is three and perfectly fine.Hang in there it gets better.

My daughter is really bad with this too. Usually, if anyone other than me or my husband is holding her she'll flip! She will even get anxious and sometimes cry if someone looks at her too long, like she thinks they're going to take her and run off. It is really hard because she is SUCH and HAPPY BABY! She is always laughing and smiling and she loves life but her grandparents almost never get to enjoy this because the second they try to hold her she cries and kicks and basically does everything in her power to get them to give her back. She also cries almpst nonstop if we go to a home with lots of people. My mother in-law doesn't get it and she keeps trying to pick her up but my daughter freaks out and I dont want to keep putting her through that anxiety. I've left her with my mother in-law 2 times for about an hour each time and she cried HARD from the second I left until the second I returned...I hope this passes soon!

My daughter started separation anxiety when she was about 4 months old. Nobody, except me and my husband, could take care of her. Even a good friend of mine, whom she saw often, couldn't babysit her for one or two hours. At the grocery store, if someone was looking at her or talking to me, she started to cry! We had to leave so many places because she was too unhappy. It lasted until she was about 18 months, although she became more sociable after about 10 months. I was trying to do a lot of small activities for her and me (story telling, park, shopping, moms club, etc), but I was leaving quickly if she was becoming too fussy. Sometimes I was worring about her future abilities to interact. I was trying to get tricks from other moms. Well, she grew out of it. Since she's 2 years old, she's been liking nursery school and her gym class. The teachers told me that she doing great. Patience, it's most likely just a phase!

My 3 1/2 month old daughter just started doing this and it's getting very frustrating! She won't let anyone hold her but me. I find it confusing because she used to LOVE her daddy and they had such great times playing and snuggling together, then literally one day she woke up and wouldn't have any of it anymore. Does anyone have any clinical answers for this behavior so young? It really worries me because she screams until she can't breathe, and if my husband tries to 'weather the storm' it just seems to get worse. She starts kicking and flailing her arms in attempt to get away! This really saddens my husband but I try to convince him this is will only be a short phase... I've heard it can last the first couple years! Is this true?

It's a normal developmental stage. Many people call it 'going strange.' A noted pediatrician in the states, Dr. Brazelton sayd that it can start around 4 months and peak anywhere between 6-8 months. No worries, it passes. Just read your little guy and don't try and force him to be comfortable with things or people that he simply isn't. The more you comfort him and expose him to new experience, the faster he will move on to his next stage in development. My son went through this very early as well and now at 12 months he is incredibly social! :) Being aware of new faces at such an early age is actually a good thing. True separation anxiety starts much later (10-18 months).

My daughter has been like this since birth. She is almost 10 months now and she is still really clingy to me, and sometimes her dad. I do believe that they are supposed to outgrow it, but personally I have yet to see that with my child. Good luck!

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